Rihanna tops U.S. singles chart for third time (Reuters)

Reuters - R&B singer Rihanna's "Take a Bow" soared 52 places to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart Thursday, the second-biggest jump to the top in the chart's 50-year history.

Damon Albarn's 'Gorillaz' musical journeys west (Yahoo! Music)
Yahoo! Music - Damon Albarn's circus opera is set to make its U.S. debut on May 22.

New `Ballo' production aims to shock and inspire (AP)

AP - A new staging of Verdi's "Un Ballo in Maschera" has been retooled for shock value, moving the setting to the smoking ruins of the World Trade Center and inserting liberal doses of flabby flesh and Hitler in drag.

BET Noms Bring T-Pain (E! Online)

E! Online - As the saying goes, no T-Pain, no BET gain.

Neil Diamond Dings Claynation (E! Online)

E! Online - It may have taken him more than four decades and 40-plus albums to get there, but Neil Diamond is finally No. 1, to the dismay of Toby Keith, Clay Aiken and Josh Groban.

Shakira campaigns for poor children (Reuters)

Reuters - Colombian pop singer Shakira is using her fame to help poor Latin American children, but she also has her heart set on a new role -- mother to her own offspring.

Taylor Hicks to play Teen Angel in Broadway's `Grease' (AP)

AP - Taylor Hicks is going from "Idol" to "Angel."

Government launches appeal to deny Snoop Dogg a U.K. visa (Yahoo! Music)
Yahoo! Music - The British Government has launched a second appeal to try to prevent Snoop Dogg from entering the U.K.

Winehouse and Doherty: Doing What They Do Best (E! Online)

E! Online - Her debut album may be called Back to Black, but at this rate, Amy Winehouse seems destined to simply fade to black.

Pearl Jam says new album in "very infant stages" (Reuters)
Reuters - Pearl Jam has started work on a new album, but it's still in "its very infant stages" according to the rock group's lead guitarist, Mike McCready.